Netflix’s Gambles Paid Off in a Big Night at the Globes

Though Netflix wasn’t exactly dominating the nominations on the way into this year’s Golden Globes, with 11 nominations to FX’s 10 (and Amazon and HBO’s 9 apiece), one thing was clear by the end of the evening: it was their night. And more than that, Netflix’s aggressive awards strategy honed at this year’s Emmys help bring forth some shocking wins.

No wonder Netflix was being so supportive… Michael Douglas’ early win for The Kominsky Method sparked a trend that would lead to Netflix bringing home five Globes, two more than its television runner-up FX.

The Roma Effect

Roma, as many critics suspected, was key to Netflix’s victory. Alfonso Cuarón’s deeply personal and heart-wrenching masterpiece about a maid in Mexico City took home two of the three awards it was nominated for: Best Director, and Best Foreign Film. (Green Book walked away with Best Screenplay, for whatever reason.)

Roma marks the first time a Netflix original movie has won a major theatrical Golden Globe. And those two victories did two big things for Netflix. First, it put the streaming service ahead of its more television-focused peers when it comes to awards totals. Second, it all but guaranteed that Roma will be a force to deal with come Oscar nominations. Forget the heated arguments about the benefits of streaming versus theatrical releases, Roma and Cuarón proved that you can have both, and rake in trophies while you’re at it.

The Kominsky Method Upset, and Bodyguard‘s Fight

However the real key to Netflix’s Golden Globes success — and the wild card that’s still leaving critics scratching their heads — is The Kominsky Method. Created by Chuck Lorre and starring Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin, the dark comedy follows an aging acting coach who had a brief moment of success in his career.

Out of the three nominations The Kominsky Method received, the series won Best Television Series Musical or Comedy and Best Actor Performance in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy. The Netflix series beat out critical darling The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and beloved cult comedy The Good Place. But it’s Douglas’ win for Best Actor that was even more impressive. Douglas’ performance beat heavy hitters like Donald Glover in FX’s Atlanta, Bill Hader in HBO’s Barry, and Jim Carrey in Showtime’s Kidding. It was a stacked category, but it was Netflix and The Kominsky Method that walked away with the statue.

Credit the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s love of older Hollywood stars like Douglas (see also, Glenn Close’s win for The Wife), as well as some savvy campaigning on Netflix’s part. Even if Kominsky Method was barely on critics’ radars, it appeals to a segment of the audience that votes for Golden Globes. So while the rest of the nominees were battling it out, Kominsky was able to sneak in and actually bring home the gold.

Speaking of surprising wins, Bodyguard rounded out the third original that earned Netflix its big night. Richard Madden beat out Pose‘s Billy Porter, Homecoming’s Stephan James, Ozark‘s Jason Bateman, and most shockingly The Americans‘ Matthew Rhys for Best Actor in a Television Drama. Madden’s win even came during The Americans‘ final season. That said, our own Meghan O’Keefe called it, so perhaps not that surprising.

FX’s Victory and Netflix’s Brighter Future

There was one network that was able to keep up with Netflix’s three-win television streak: FX. Thanks to wins in Best Drama (The Americans), Best Miniseries, and Best Actor in a Television Miniseries (both for The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story), FX brought home just as many television Golden Globes as the streaming giant… But there’s a good chance that may change in the near future.

Of FX’s 10 nominees, six of them were Ryan Murphy shows. Both Pose and The Assassination of Gianni Versace were nominated for multiple awards, two and four respectively. That left The Americans and a single nomination for Donald Glover in Atlanta to round out the rest of the network’s nominations. It’s clear that Ryan Murphy shows are awards show pleasers, and the main crux of FX’s awards push. Only one caveat: Ryan Murphy is heading to Netflix.

Mind you, he’ll still be producing some shows for FX, but with the bulk of his new output headed to the streaming giant, it just means we’ll be seeing a split in attention on the mega-producer as we go forward. Good news for Netflix; bad news for FX. Will FX’s four currently-running Murphy shows be enough to court the awards vote even with the loss of its critical darling The Americans? Or will the network have to get creative to remain an awards heavy hitter?

Amazon’s Fall and HBO’s Disappointing Night

Amazon and HBO probably thought they were in for a good Sunday. After all, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was such an awards powerhouse during its first season, it would make sense for it to keep up that streak. And HBO was walking into the night with nominations for a praised comedy, a Gillian Flynn miniseries, a big-budget drama, and Laura Dern. It should have been an easy night, right?

Nope. Out of Amazon’s nine nominations, only The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and A Very English Scandal delivered. Rachel Brosnahan won for Best Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy; and Ben Whishaw took home Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or TV Film. Homecoming, with its three Best Drama nominations, and Julia Roberts doing her first TV series — which is the exact thing the HFPA usually loves — walked away with nothing.

But it was HBO that probably had the worst night of any network. Out of the paid cable network’s nine nominations and five nominated projects, only one delivered an actual win: Sharp Objects. Patricia Clarkson’s Best Supporting Actress win saved the network from a complete shutout.

The cable network’s latest prestige comedy, Barry,  failed to deliver after winning two major Emmys. Westworld is starting to look less like a possible Game of Thrones replacement and more like a very expensive gamble. And in terms of viewership and awards nominations, Sharp Objects has been good for the network, but it’s no Big Little Lies.

It’s not all bad news for HBO. Succession has morphed into a nice surprise hit, which will likely only get more popular as it continues. Likewise, Barry still has a cult following and awards pull, and there is at least one more season of Game of Thrones in our future. But if the network wants to take back its king of television title from Netflix, it’s going to have to up its game.

Maybe see if Chuck Lorre or Alfonso Cuarón can help them out?